Reports show huge differences in money flowing to Gilbert race

Gilbert Town Council candidates have raised as little as $159 to as much as $18,742.

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Victor Petersen

Most of Petersen's funding has come from a $15,055 loan to himself in the last reporting period. He brought in $3,676 in cash donations this period and another small loan to take his total to $18,742.

His nearly 40 donors included $200 from fellow council member Jared Taylor. The two largest donations, each $500, came from developers Jason Barney, with Landmark Companies, and William Olsen, with Circle G. He also received $250 from Gerald Ricke, a developer with Circle G. Many of Petersen's donations were in the $20-$50 range.

Petersen said he does not have a total dollar amount in mind for his campaign but so far he's accomplishing the basics and planning for the general election.

"You always have to plan ahead," he said.

When he was first elected to the council in 2011, he spent about $25,000 on the primary and general elections.

Petersen said he's discovering a difference in this campaign compared with his previous one, which was an off-cycle election, or not at the same time as state elections.

Gilbert elections were in the spring. After the town decided voluntarily to run its elections in conjunction with other elections, the Legislature passed a law that forced municipalities to change.

"It's harder to get signs because the sign shop has been busier," Petersen said.

He spent $2,376 as of May 31. That includes a $400 loan he repaid. His biggest expense was $770 for yard signs.

His cash on hand totaled $16,366 in the latest report.

Jordan Ray

Ray has $18,145, including a $10,000 loan to himself, $1,765 in cash contributions and $6,380 in in-kind donations.

Most in-kind donations came from Derek Madsen, who created and maintains a website for Ray. Ray had seven donors give more than $200, including fellow council member Jenn Daniels ($200).

His largest donations were for $250 from donors such as Nathan Andersen, an attorney with LeSueur Investments, and Curtis Christensen, a CFO with Premus Capital.

Ray said he plans to finance his campaign mainly through fundraising. His goal is to reach $25,000 for the primary.

"It's difficult to raise money when you have city, county, state and federal elections all at the same time," Ray said. "It will be interesting to see how successful candidates are at raising money with all the other elections going on, including the governor's race."

Ray has spent spent $6,430, including $6,380 of that in-kind expenses.

His cash on hand was $11,715 in the latest filing.

Eddie Cook

Incumbent Eddie Cook has $12,385, including a $5,000 loan to himself and cash donations of $7,385.

He received $2,500 each from Wayne Kandas and his wife, Kay, who is Cook's campaign treasurer. Cook also received $2,100 from Howard and Jana Morrison with the Morrison Ranch development. Cook received $200 from fellow council member Jenn Daniels.

In all, he had four donations in the filing period.

Cook said he has several meet-and-greets planned, where he expects to raise more funds. "We're on track to raise $20,000," he said.

He raised just more than that in his last council race.

Cook shows no expenses through May 31 with the full $12,385 still on hand.

Jason Cvancara

Cvancara lent himself $3,210 and got a $10 donation from a family member, taking his total to $3,220.

Cvancara said he wants to hold campaign spending down, hoping to spend no more than $5,000.

He said he was told that he would need to raise closer to $10,000 to $20,000.

"I don't see the point," he said. "I don't see how I can say I'm a fiscal conservative and spend $30,000 just to win a seat for the Town Council.

"The big thing for me, I find it ridiculous in politics the amount of money people spend to win a seat and turn around and say, 'I'm a fiscal conservative.' You've spent what you're going to earn in one year."

He spent $492 on such items as postcards, magnets and ads on Facebook.

His cash on hand was $2,727 in the latest filing.

T.J. Tillman

Tillman's report shows receipts of $2,445, including a loan to himself of $2,000 and individual cash donations totaling $445.

His biggest donation was $200 from Neal Andres, a self-employed Gilbert resident. Tillman donated $150 to his campaign and raised $95 in smaller donations at an ice-cream social.

Tillman said his goal for the primary is $10,000 to $15,000, and that the first big expense will be signs. "And we've printed some postcards and fliers," he said.

He has spent nearly $494, including $131 on T-shirts and $87 on postcards.

His cash on hand was $1,951 in the latest filing.

Brigette Peterson

Peterson's coffers totaled $200, all supplied by herself and her husband, Mark.

She said her goal for the primary is about $8,000, mainly from donors. She did not start asking for donations until about June 1, which would be reflected in the August campaign-finance report.

She has worked on many campaigns for others in Gilbert, but, she said, "It's definitely different being the candidate." She has been surprised by the number of question-and-answer packets she has received from various groups.

"I"m really trying to do a grass-roots campaign," she said. "I want to try to not spend a lot of money on the campaign. I'm using a lot of social media to get the word out."

The reports revealed finances through May 31.

Early ballots for the Gilbert Town Council primary election are set to trickle in on Thursday, the first major step in deciding four seats up for grabs this spring. Interest among voters appears to be climbing as the election nears, with about 400 more voter registrations each month since November.(Photo: Parker Leavitt/The Republic)

Story Highlights

Campaign-finance reports have been filed by candidates for Gilbert Town Council

The campaign coffers range from $18,741 to $159

Low numbers at this point may reveal not so much lagging fund-raising as strategy by candidates

Incumbents say a typical Gilbert council race costs about $20,000. This is the first local election in which the amount individuals and political-action committees could donate increased to $2,500 from $450. Eddie Cook was the only candidate to receive donations that hit that maximum.

Attorney and election-law expert Andrew Gordon said it's too early to say whether the state's new contribution caps will allow special interests and rich donors to carry more weight in local elections, as critics have charged. Either way, he predicts municipal campaigns in major Arizona cities will become increasingly pricey.

"Running for office (in Arizona) has been a little bit of a bargain in the past, and I think the new limits are going to change that," he said. "The moment one candidate gets in and starts to raise more money, the other candidates feel like they have to raise more money."

That said, Gordon believes other factors ultimately hold more sway at the municipal level.

"Generally, I think that organization and actually getting to know the voters on a personal basis makes a lot more of a difference in local races," he said. "If you're running for a statewide position, there's no way you can get to know every voter, but if you're running in a district in a town or a city, you have a pretty good opportunity to connect with a much higher percentage of people.

Most of Petersen's funding has come from a $15,055 loan to himself in the last reporting period. He brought in $3,676 in cash donations this period and another small loan to take his total to $18,742.

His nearly 40 donors included $200 from fellow council member Jared Taylor. The two largest donations, each $500, came from developers Jason Barney, with Landmark Companies, and William Olsen, with Circle G. He also received $250 from Gerald Ricke, a developer with Circle G. Many of Petersen's donations were in the $20-$50 range.

Petersen said he does not have a total dollar amount in mind for his campaign but so far he's accomplishing the basics and planning for the general election.

"You always have to plan ahead," he said.

When he was first elected to the council in 2011, he spent about $25,000 on the primary and general elections.

Petersen said he's discovering a difference in this campaign compared with his previous one, which was an off-cycle election, or not at the same time as state elections.

Gilbert elections were in the spring. After the town decided voluntarily to run its elections in conjunction with other elections, the Legislature passed a law that forced municipalities to change.

"It's harder to get signs because the sign shop has been busier," Petersen said.

He spent $2,376 as of May 31. That includes a $400 loan he repaid. His biggest expense was $770 for yard signs.

His cash on hand totaled $16,366 in the latest report.

Jordan Ray

Ray has $18,145, including a $10,000 loan to himself, $1,765 in cash contributions and $6,380 in in-kind donations.

Most in-kind donations came from Derek Madsen, who created and maintains a website for Ray. Ray had seven donors give more than $200, including fellow council member Jenn Daniels ($200).

His largest donations were for $250 from donors such as Nathan Andersen, an attorney with LeSueur Investments, and Curtis Christensen, a CFO with Premus Capital.

Ray said he plans to finance his campaign mainly through fundraising. His goal is to reach $25,000 for the primary.

"It's difficult to raise money when you have city, county, state and federal elections all at the same time," Ray said. "It will be interesting to see how successful candidates are at raising money with all the other elections going on, including the governor's race."

Ray has spent spent $6,430, including $6,380 of that in-kind expenses.

His cash on hand was $11,715 in the latest filing.

Eddie Cook

Incumbent Eddie Cook has $12,385, including a $5,000 loan to himself and cash donations of $7,385.

He received $2,500 each from Wayne Kandas and his wife, Kay, who is Cook's campaign treasurer. Cook also received $2,100 from Howard and Jana Morrison with the Morrison Ranch development. Cook received $200 from fellow council member Jenn Daniels.

In all, he had four donations in the filing period.

Cook said he has several meet-and-greets planned, where he expects to raise more funds. "We're on track to raise $20,000," he said.

He raised just more than that in his last council race.

Cook shows no expenses through May 31 with the full $12,385 still on hand.

Jason Cvancara

Cvancara lent himself $3,210 and got a $10 donation from a family member, taking his total to $3,220.

Cvancara said he wants to hold campaign spending down, hoping to spend no more than $5,000.

He said he was told that he would need to raise closer to $10,000 to $20,000.

"I don't see the point," he said. "I don't see how I can say I'm a fiscal conservative and spend $30,000 just to win a seat for the Town Council.

"The big thing for me, I find it ridiculous in politics the amount of money people spend to win a seat and turn around and say, 'I'm a fiscal conservative.' You've spent what you're going to earn in one year."

He spent $492 on such items as postcards, magnets and ads on Facebook.

His cash on hand was $2,727 in the latest filing.

T.J. Tillman

Tillman's report shows receipts of $2,445, including a loan to himself of $2,000 and individual cash donations totaling $445.

His biggest donation was $200 from Neal Andres, a self-employed Gilbert resident. Tillman donated $150 to his campaign and raised $95 in smaller donations at an ice-cream social.

Tillman said his goal for the primary is $10,000 to $15,000, and that the first big expense will be signs. "And we've printed some postcards and fliers," he said.

He has spent nearly $494, including $131 on T-shirts and $87 on postcards.

His cash on hand was $1,951 in the latest filing.

Brigette Peterson

Peterson's coffers totaled $200, all supplied by herself and her husband, Mark.

She said her goal for the primary is about $8,000, mainly from donors. She did not start asking for donations until about June 1, which would be reflected in the August campaign-finance report.

She has worked on many campaigns for others in Gilbert, but, she said, "It's definitely different being the candidate." She has been surprised by the number of question-and-answer packets she has received from various groups.

"I"m really trying to do a grass-roots campaign," she said. "I want to try to not spend a lot of money on the campaign. I'm using a lot of social media to get the word out."